One Year Later...

Great is Thy Faithfulness, O God my Father,

There is no shadow of turning with Thee;

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;

As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,

Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided-

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

Roma

Incredible.

At the Vatican, from inside St Peter's Basilica:

View from high up inside the Roman Colosseum:

We'll finish up tomorrow, home on Thursday. 

Over 500 pictures so far...

Florence

Traveled by train Friday from Naples to Florence.  Enjoyed sitting across the aisle from a Dallas, Texas couple celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary.  Nice to hear southern accents!

Pictured below is the view from San Miniato Church.  See the large dome in the distance?  Our hotel in Florence is about a block from the dome.  Saturday we walked with our guide from our hotel, toured much of Florence north of the Arno River, then headed across the bridges, and up (WAY UP) to San Miniato Church and Piazzale Michelangelo.  Yes, I'll admit, there was some whining (are we there yet?) on my part.  But wow, the view was worth the effort!

 On our own in Florence today, then off to Rome tomorrow.

Whew.

Italia, days two and three

Great day in Capri and Anacapri yesterday.  Our guide was a ton of fun, showed us much of the island.  We toured in a 1960 Fiat convertible.  Gorgeous views.  Beautiful weather.  Communicating isn't too difficult, since most Italians we've come in contact with speak English well.  Absolutely crazy drivers here on the southeastern coast, winding up and down the hills along the coast, with barely enough room for two cars to pass.

Our ride on Capri:

Today we toured Ravello, saw more breathtaking views and walked for miles.  Highlights- ceramics, jeweler specializing in cameo carving out of shell, and our tour of Villa Cimbrone.

Terrace of  Infinity at Villa Cimbrone and a plaque on a church built in 1212 by St. Francis of Assisi:

Tomorrow, off to Florence!

Positano, Italia

Highly recommend for six-month post-surgery recovery.  My breakfast view below.  Off to Capri.  (Discovered that you don't pronounce it like the cropped pants.  Accent on the first syllable.)

Ciao! (pronounce: chow)

Happy Spring!

An update...six months after!  Wow, time really does fly.

Since the first of the year, we've been less and less distracted by doctors and tests.  Though we continue under the watchful eye of the breast specialist, plastic surgeon and oncologist, our appointments are much less frequent. Thankful.

About every three to four months, our follow-up appointments with our oncologist will include lab tests, looking for "tumor markers".  We've had our first round of tests, and all were clean.   Thankful.

The breast specialist is also on the lookout for recurrence.  Follow-up with him is scheduled at three to four month intervals.  Our first follow-up went well.  Thankful.

Because we opted for breast reconstruction, we'll continue to be under the care of our plastic surgeon.  You may remember that we chose the "direct to implant" (one-step) reconstruction, completed on the surgery date in November.  There have been additional procedures available (let's call them....detailing) for which we've simply chosen to "opt out".  We have had no complications and have a new appreciation for the skill of plastic surgeons.  Thankful.

We're living a new "normal",  and can most certainly attest to God's faithfulness in providing everything we need to move forward in faith.  So very Thankful.

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be Glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."  Ephesians 3:20-21

Gratitude

My Day

a poem by Alan Casey

Each morning I wake up

looking for those golden rays from the skies,

Hoping that I will not see the color of gray

closing off the view from my eyes.

So, then I am thankful for a sky of blue

with funny shaped clouds floating along,

Brightening up my day, making me smile,

giving me the feeling that nothing can go wrong.

Then each night before I go to sleep

my heart fills with that certain feeling

I find myself thanking the Lord

for giving me something to believe in.

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect."  I Peter 3:15

Quest(s)

Alternatively titled:  To blog or not to blog

Did you think I'd totally given up on this whole blogging thing? 

My lack of attention to posting information directly correlates to a lack of new information on this end.  Like most of you in the area, the primary goal of the last few weeks has been to stay reasonably warm and dry.  And to steer clear whatever the gusty winds might be blowing around outside.

We did however, make an important decision this week.  After follow up appointments with several doctors, and after a long talk with our oncologist, we've made the decision to forgo chemotherapy treatment.  The Oncotype DX test for which we were awaiting results was helpful in that the final numbers were not high. 

To be honest, the facts of our particular circumstances put us in a position to be fully supported by our oncologist whether we chose to move forward with the chemo or not.   Tough choice, with pros and cons on both sides.  We've prayerfully made our decision, and have peace.

This journey (so far) has been filled with quite a few questions that have multiple choice answers.  Isn't that just like life?  A good friend reminded me of a scripture from the book of Isaiah:  "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it'."  (30:21) 

And now, how to communicate to all of you who have prayed, and continue to pray for our family.  We are humbled that you would continue to keep us close.  We are grateful for every prayer, every card, every expression of love that you have shared with our family, and are very much honored to call you friends.

Much love and Merry Christmas to all.

"I thank my God every time I remember you....He who began a good work in [us] will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus".  Philippians 1:3,6

How are you?

A simple question, really. 

Asked often, and with sincerity.

Often, we're not certain how much information a person wants to share, and to ask in this way gives the answerer the freedom to respond with "fine", or "let me tell you my story", or something in-between.

All things considered, we are good.  Thanksgiving was peaceful and crazy.  (If you know or are a part of my father's family, you know about the crazy part.  Those Bolings.  Gotta love 'em.)

We were able to spend time with Alan's family as well.  We had a sweet time together, with plenty of love and laughter.  (For those of you unaware, my husband passed away last February, and we're all navigating these holidays with some trepidation.)  

Elves showed up and helped to assemble and decorate the Christmas tree, since lifting and stretching are activities that are prohibited.

Recovery continues without complications.  We are so thankful, and have been enjoying time with friends, getting acquainted with Panera's holiday drinks and eats.  Doctor visits are few and far-between.

Our insurance company has approved the further testing mentioned in our previous post. (more info, see HERE) We appreciate your prayers regarding the accuracy of the results, and  wisdom regarding our decision.

We are so very appreciative of  your support, and are aware that many of you, our family and friends, are experiencing exhausting challenges- physical, emotional, financial, etc.  We pray that...

"...the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."  Romans 15:13

Pathology, Perspective, Progress

Another week has passed, with progress in recovery from the surgery of two weeks ago.  We are very thankful for continued healing with no complications!

Remember when, back in your school days, you were assigned vocabulary words?  Each Monday, you were assigned a new list to spell and use in a sentence.  The goal was not only memorization--the Friday test revealed whether or not you understood the meaning of the words.

We met with our Oncologist this week, and have several new words.  Our new vocab list includes words like hormone (estrogen) receptor positive, tamoxifen, cytoxa, and taxotere.  We're learning to use these words in context, and our brains have been stretched.

That pesky spot of invasive cancer, measuring 1.2 centimeters, was removed during mastectomy two weeks ago.  Though gone, it's certainly not forgotten.  Because the tumor was hormone (estrogen) receptor positive, tamoxifen will be prescribed for a period of five years.

A little less certain at this point is whether or not chemotherapy will be prudent.  An absence of family history of breast cancer, the presence of clear margins around the removed tumor, and clear sentinel nodes all point to a reduced risk of recurrence.  Low probability of recurrence gives us the option of declining chemotherapy treatment.  Assuming our insurance company approves further testing of the tumor, the results of the Oncotype DX test (genetic markers test) should give us further direction in our decision regarding additional treatment. 

As we enter this season of Thanksgiving, we are so very grateful for each of you that have come alongside us in this journey.  We are blessed by your continued prayers and encouragement.

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Know that the Lord is God.  It is He who made us, and we are His, we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.  Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.  For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations."  Psalm 100: 3-5

Out of the Fog

It's been a week!  Haven't updated the blog for fear that anything written would be senseless.

Follow-up appointment with the plastic surgeon today was good, healing is going well.  The nurse that removed those annoying drains is my hero.

I have been blessed by your notes, blessed by food (my fridge and freezer are overflowing), blessed with fresh flowers, and very blessed with quiet telephones.  (Thankful that my recovery is post-election, those endless political calls made me want to permanently ditch my land line.)

Most especially, however, I have been tremendously blessed by your prayer support.  We have peace.  Peace for now, peace for later.

Initially, our diagnosis was DCIS (see first blog post), determined after biopsy.  Additional testing was ordered (MRI) and confirmed that diagnosis.  MRI results gave two more important bits of information:  (1) the right breast was unaffected, and (2) there was an additional spot of concern in the affected breast. 

Post-surgery pathology is giving us good news/bad news reports.  The good news:  lymph nodes are clear.  The bad news:  that additional spot of concern was an invasive cancer.  The good news:  that invasive cancer was removed, and with clear margins.  The bad news:  the previous existence of that invasive cancer means that further treatment will probably be necessary.

We'll see an oncologist next week to determine the next treatment steps, based on the full pathological report.

Prayer requests:  continued healing without complications; rest; clear understanding of medical information; wisdom for oncologist for future treatment.

We've laughed this week too, but some things simply should not be shared on a blog...

"May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."  Hebrews 13:20-21

Home.

Glad to be home.  Have more mobility than expected.  Being well cared for.  : )

Remember Snow White's seven dwarfs?  I've been Dopey, Sleepy, Grumpy.  Forget about Bashful- not a chance with doctors and nurses poking, prodding, writing on parts you'd just as soon keep to yourself.  But most certainly Happy to have the surgery behind me.

Tough road of healing ahead, we'll take it one day at a time.

Your prayers, notes, support, love...priceless.

Janet

Lightly Salted

Hello! It's Alyson. Judy and Mom and I were sitting here chatting, and Dr. H came in to check up on Mom and tell her that she's looking great, healing nicely, and can go home today. Woohoo! (this was at 9:15, we were driving away by 10:15. Double woohoo!)

In the process of reviewing how Mom is doing, the doctor asked her to rate her pain on a scale of 1 to 10, using this picture that is posted on the wall above the bed:

I personally don't think that's a very helpful pain scale. My friend at Hyperbole and a Half blog created a much more helpful pain scale. Disclaimer: She does use a bit of salty language, but not every other word. More like lightly salted.

Shhhhh.....

Arriving in the early morning to give Alyson a chance to go home and get some sleep.  Tiptoeing into Janet's room, it's all dark and they're both sound asleep.  Carefully backing out and closing door.  Find nice little coffee nook around the corner.  Waiting.

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
   for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
   great is your faithfulness.   Lamentations 3:22-23

Road to Recovery

Janet is resting in a quiet room.  Pray for a peaceful and restful sleep tonight.  A quiet day of rest tomorrow.

The eternal God is a dwelling place,
         And underneath are the everlasting arms.    Deuteronomy 33:27

She's Done!

Dr H just called and said they're closing up.  Everything went well and he'll be chatting with us soon.  Thank you all for your prayers.  We'll continue to keep you posted on Janet's progress!

1st Phase Complete!

Dr. F has completed the first phase of surgery.  Everything is going well and the initial report from the sentinal node testing is negative.  Dr. H is about 20 minutes into reconstruction.

Observations from the surgical waiting room:  Yleta is getting a free consult from a wedding planner.  : )

update

Letting you all know that Janet was just taken back to surgery.

Preheating the Patient

For those of you who haven't experienced surgery in a while, there is a nice little innovation in hospital apparel.  This morning, Janet is being "prewarmed" for surgery.  She is decked out in a "gown" that has velcro hooks for the convenience of the medical staff.  It also has a flexible hose attached to it that blows heated or cooled air for the patient's comfort.  Got a hot flash?  Drill that sucker down to icy cold.  Feeling a bit drafty?  Set the dial for toast.  Brilliant.

Nuclear Tracing and Other Bizarro Events

Just now, in the surgical center, a kind and knowledgeable nurse walked into Janet's room with a greenish metal box that looked like it came from WWII.  It was marked "NUCLEAR."  Yes it was.  She explained that many people are allergic to dye that is commonly used in the sentinel node testing procedure.  So, Janet will have a nuclear tracer injected and then the medical professionals will use a GEIGER COUNTER to locate the sentinel node. How cool!